Forest Fire Lookout Association New York State Chapter July 2021 While we seem to be in the midst of monsoon season here in the New York, our western U.S. friends are experiencing record breaking temperatures and numerous wildfires have sprung up due to the severe dryness and heat. Temperatures over 100 degrees have been happening in many locations in the western U.S. Can you imagine the horrific conditions wildland firefighters are dealing with between the temperatures and the fires? Stay safe my friends. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bootleg-fire-oregon- update/ One of our own New York State Forest Rangers has been deployed to help in the west. From the NYSDEC 7-12-21: “A DEC Forest Ranger and expert wildland firefighter is being deployed today to assist with efforts to contain the Bootleg Fire in the Fremont-Winema region of Oregon. Nearly every year, New York State deploys its highly trained wildland firefighters to help battle fires in western states. The DEC Forest Ranger will join a crew of federal, state, and local fire agencies battling the Bootleg Fire in Oregon. In 1979, New York sent its first firefighting crew to assist western states with large wildfires. On average, one or two crews have been sent as needed to assist with wildfires every year since. In addition to helping contain wildfires and minimize damage, these crews gain valuable experience that can be utilized fighting wildfires and managing all-risk incidents in New York.” Speaking of wild fires, I had the real pleasure of speaking at length with a visitor to Balsam Lake Fire Tower while stewarding on the July Fourth weekend. Shawn, a Forester from the State of Pennsylvania, and I spoke at length about the history of fire towers in both states. Shawn shared a great deal about the policy that the state adopted to return fire towers to the state a few years ago and his work as a wildland firefighter. At the time of our visit, his wife, who is also a wildland firefighter, was in Colorado working for 2 weeks. When she returned, he was heading out for two weeks. Stay safe! The Overlook Mountain Fire Tower was part of our New York State Fire Spotting System for many years. Today, it is a draw to thousands of visitors each year. Volunteer Coordinator, Charlie, tells me this year is much, much quieter than last year! Thanks for all of your work Charlie, and to all of the volunteers at Overlook! Our July photo contest winner on our Facebook page was this photo of Overlook submitted by Deb Stone! It is a beautifully framed photo and one that surprisingly does not have too many visitors in it! Congratulations to Deb. This photo is the cover photo on our Facebook page. Speaking of the Facebook page cover photo – I do apologize to both Jessica and her brother CT Ware for not identifying the fire tower in last month's photo correctly. I wrote that it was taken of the Hadley Mt Fire Tower and that was incorrect. It was the Hurricane Fire Tower. My apologies to both of you! New York State Forest Fires I was very pleased to see ticketing occurred in the one instance. From the NYSDEC Ranger Reports: 6-29-21 Ranger Report: Town of Keene Essex County State Land Violations: On June 23 at 12 p.m., DEC's Ray Brook Dispatch was notified of a ground fire at an illegal campsite near the Wash Bowl in the Giant Mountain Wilderness Area. Forest Ranger Evans and Assistant Ranger Raudonis responded to the scene and put out the small ground fire. Later that evening, Forest Ranger Mecus identified two subjects from Otego as the subjects responsible for the illegal campsite, and the Ranger issued six tickets for multiple State Land violations. 7-7-21 Ranger Report: Town of Schroon Essex County Wildland Fire: On July 3 at 3:50 p.m., Assistant Forest Ranger Cleinman advised DEC's Ray Brook Dispatch that he located a fire while on routine patrol near a lean-to at Pharaoh Lake in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area. The Assistant Forest Ranger reported that the fire, later determined to have been started by a campfire, was approximately 100 ft. by 100 ft. in size and smoldering with no active flames. Forest Rangers Arnold and Kabrehl responded by ATV with a pump and hoses. The half-acre fire was safely contained due to rain. Around the State Hadley: I recently received a note from Steve Mackey of the Hadley Fire Tower group. They had discovered some bolts were missing under the stair treads. As they were replacing them, they realized that several bolts were actually loose. Steve thought this may be happening on some other towers as well. So do take a few minutes to check your bolts and be certain they are all in place and they are all secure. Thanks for letting us know Steve! Sterling: Susan reports Susan announced that the Sterling Fire Tower is now open from 11 AM – 3 PM on weekends. Although there are now 13 volunteers, more are needed to fill some dates. Thanks to all who have volunteered thus far. Contact [email protected] to help out. Poke O Moonshine: The trails have been closed 3 different days recently for supplies to be air lifted for some upcoming projects. There is work planned Thursday, August 5th, with Friends of Poke O Moonshine, or Saturday July 31st and Sunday August 1st,with the Adirondack 46ers. Check out our calendar here and on the web page and plan on lending a hand! http://nysffla.org/calendar.html High Point Fire Tower: High Point fire tower was closed in 1971 and later removed. It was a very important tower in the area due to numerous fires, some of which were reported to be caused by the Berry Pickers. This wonderful Utube video is great to listen to and contains photos and mentions of the fires. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OGlepJuJwY Warning - it is nearly 30 minutes long. Bramley Mountain Fire Tower: FOBM is continuing their work and efforts at returning the fire tower to the summit. I was honored to be asked to participate in this work by doing a podcast that could be utilized in their educational and fund raising efforts. Brett Barry of Silver Hollow Audio who does Kaatscast, and his sound man, were excellent to work with. I thought the finished product turned out great and I sincerely hope the Bramley Mt Fire Tower will benefit! https://anchor.fm/kaatscast Goodnow: Here is great news and an update from the Goodnow project. “With the help of many neighbors, friends and supporters, SUNY ESF will begin renovations on the Goodnow Mountain Fire Tower in 2022. Located in Newcomb, in the Huntington Wild Forest, next year marks the 100th anniversary of the firetower's establishment. To meet state agency requirements, and with the current limited availability of fire tower repair specialists and materials, repairs are planned to commence in the spring. The team is assessing repair needs to the tower base, structure, stairs, cab, tower site, observer's cabin, access, and supporting information (e.g., signage). Funds raised to date: $22,600 from individual donors plus support from the Town of Newcomb. Funds will still be accepted via the donation web site:www.esf.edu/newcomb/firetower/. Plan: ESF will utilize the SUNY Construction Fund (CF) for engineering, materials purchase and repair. Donor funds will be used to augment CF funds for materials/equipment transport and for items such as rehabilitation of educational and research aspects of the tower (cabin, signage and trail, interpretive materials, scientific equipment, development of programming for students and visitors). This will enable a new generation of hikers and students to experience the history, research and scenic view from the Goodnow tower. Thank you to everyone who expressed interest and supported the renovation project. With your help, we will give the fire tower new life and celebrate a Century of Science and Discovery on Goodnow Mountain. For more information: contact Stacy McNulty, [email protected], 518-582-4551 Project website:https://www.esf.edu/newcomb/firetower/ with stunning tower and fall foliage footage. Mount Beacon: Last month we reported on the recent work done at Mount Beacon fire tower by the Mount Beacon Fire Tower Restoration Committee. Thanks to all who participated in that work! This month marks the 90th anniversary of the fire tower. A great article was done by the Beacon Free Press dated July 14, 2021. As of this morning their web page was not yet updated, but do check back and check out the full article. https://www.sdutchessnews.com/BFP/bfp.htm. Here are a few snippets. “The fact that the Mt Beacon Fire Tower is still standing after the majority of the fire towers in NY State and for that matter, the United States were removed, should be celebrated and embraced by the people who hike up to the tower, but also by the local residents. Since the major restoration structural work (cross bracing, wall and roof panels) was done on the Fire Tower ten years ago, the most recent work on the fire tower has dealt with some needed concrete work, but more importantly, dealing with a major graffiti problem. We also repaired the flag pole which allowed us to raise Old Glory again which can be seen from down on Route 9D to the west and Route 9 from the east”. NYS FFLA Web page: I was doing some research in the last couple of weeks about a fire tower and I used the google search feature and was pleased, amazed, ecstatic to see the NYSFFLA web page came up as the 4th item on the search page!!! Thank you to all of you for using the web page! A big round of applause to our web master Tom, for keeping it updated.